Photo Flash: Take a Look Inside Dance Lab New York's Collaboration with The Joyce Theater

Dance Lab New York (DLNY) has completed its Lab Cycle in collaboration with The Joyce Theater Foundation supporting female choreographers of color in ballet.

Take a look at photos below!

In the final two weeks of the Joyce Lab Cycle, choreographers Courtney Cochran and Margarita Armas explored the classical and neoclassical ballet idioms prior to their presentation at Works & Process at The Guggenheim.

New York-based choreographer and dancer Courtney Cochran said, "To be nominated for this opportunity was incredible. As a woman, a woman of color and a choreographer, I feel seen." Regarding her discoveries in The Lab, "Dance Lab allowed me to dive much deeper into my exploration of human relationships in a narrative I'm developing."

19-year old Margarita Armas reflected on her time in The Lab, "I am completely changed from this experience. I thought I was just a dancer before, and now I have really found the choreographer and the creator in me. It has changed me."

Throughout the DLNY/Joyce Lab Cycle Collaboration, DLNY provided each choreographer with 30 hours of incubation, a stipend, eight paid professional dancers, a rehearsal director, insurances, and administrative support from DLNY staff and Founding Artistic Director, Josh Prince. The Lab Cycle took place at The Joyce Artist Residency Center, provided by The Joyce Theater Foundation.

The company of dancers, cast by Jason Styres, CSA, included: Anaïs Blake, Ramona Kelley, Yusaku Komori, Kelly Marsh, IV, Rachel Schmidt, Nicholas Sipes, Gabriela Soto, Kameron Triche, Allison Walsh and rehearsal director, Richard Glover.

The DLNY/Joyce Lab Cycle Collaboration is made possible by the generous members of the DLNY Supporter Circle. Leadership Level: Jeff & Susan Campbell, Robert I. Lipp; Collaborator Level: Suzi Dietz, Jonna Mackin, Anh-Tuyet Nguyen and Robert Pollock; Patron Level: Maria-Cristina Anzola & John Heimann, Margee & John Falk. Young Leader Level: Duke Dang and Charles Rosen.

MARGARITA ARMAS is a Miami, Florida native. Margarita was featured in the second season of the Teen Vogue's Strictly Ballet Series. She was also the recipient of the Silver Award in the 2018 YoungArts Ballet Category. She is currently training in Seattle, Washington at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School Professional Division program.

COURTNEY COCHRAN trained with Sacramento Ballet and Crockett Deane Ballet (CDB), where she was selected as an emerging choreographer at the 2008 Regional Dance America Festival. Courtney continued her training with Alonzo King LINES BFA Program (Martina Hotchkiss) and Dance Theatre of Harlem's Professional Training Program (Robert Garland). She has choreographed on DTH's Training Program and has debuted work for Brooklyn Ballet's First Look program and Norte Maar's CounterPointe. Courtney spent four seasons with Brooklyn Ballet and has been a guest artist with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Sierra Nevada Ballet, and The Black Iris Project.

Dance Lab New York is the only independent organization exclusively dedicated to promoting and advancing the art form of choreography by gifting vital resources to a diverse range of dance makers. DLNY provides choreographers with a curated company of professional dancers, expansive studio space, and structured rehearsal time in order to incubate ideas in a fully professionalized environment. In addition to creation grants, DLNY's initiatives in training and mentorship ensure continuous progression within the art form. This revolutionary new model for making dance fosters creativity, ingenuity, risk taking, discovery, and collaboration, which impacts the future of dance in New York and on stages across the world.

Over the past seven six years, DLNY has had the pleasure of providing a company of paid dancers and studio space to more than 45 choreographers, including three-time Tony Award- winner Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton), Camille A. Brown (Once on This Island), Hope Boykin (Alvin Ailey), Lorin Latarro (Waitress), Lauren Lovette (New York City Ballet), Al Blackstone ("So You Think You Can Dance"), Ray Mercer (The Lion King), Brooke Wendle ("America's Got Talent"), Rosie Herrera (Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre), Loni Landon (Loni Landon Dance Project), and more.

For more information on Dance Lab New York, please visit www.dancelabny.org.

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